That's a lot of independents. Maybe Stu is onto something.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/NSW-business-dreads-hung-parliament/2007/02/16/1171405378519.html

A NSW business lobby group has asked the state's independent MPs to reveal how they would act if a hung parliament is returned at the March 24 state election.

There are ten independent MPs in the lower house of the NSW parliament and several high-profile mayors are standing as independent candidates at the election.

Mr MacDonald said the business community wanted assurances the independents would allow a minority administration to govern without hindrance.

"Ten to twelve back seat drivers is a sure-fire recipe for disaster," he said.

Interesting situation.

Freediver wrote:
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Indeed. I think people are beginning to lose faith in the traditional parties and are moving onto the alternative parties/independents.

But at the end of the day, independents have no impact, do they? They don't form Government and merely list their preferences for which major party they want to win the election. Is that not right?



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Agreed. State Governments are useless and are just a testament to a divided Australia.

Hello All, this is my first post here. I have been looking for an Australian political forum for some time where I can discuss things with like-minded people. I hope this is it.

I would like to see the independants put their politics on the table and vote with/against legislation on an issue by issue basis. Of course, what will actually happen is that these independants will align themselves with a government and use that loyal alignment to make their constituents - and their own self-interest - happy.

The problem is - how many of these people can actually describe their politics? It used to be simple - we had left and right. What happenned to the Classic Liberalism that existed in the 1950s? How did religious based moralism become so entrenched in the right - to the point where they ignore their liberalism roots and actively  make legislation which infringes on people's freedom? How did the left allow manufacturing in this country to be snubbed out of existence - despite the large number of blue-collar workers which were their most loyal followers? Perhaps the general public are just too apathetic, and too keen to grab what pitiful offerings are being made.

Thanks for reading,
spacscilib

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Marginal-seats-dilemma-for-Premier-Iemma/2007/03/04/1172943280778.html

Five marginal Labor seats are set to fall in the NSW election, and two more are line-ball, leaving the Iemma government in a neck and neck race to retain a majority, polls show.

Labor is set to lose the seats of Camden, Riverstone, Menai, Miranda and Port Stephens, the poll says.

The seats of Penrith and Tweed are considered line-ball, and the loss of one more seat would cost the government its majority, forcing it to seek support from independents.

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The Constitution never intended for so much power to be vested at a federal level. The idea was that only when the states relinquish power should the federal government be allowed to legislate. Successive federal governments have learnt to bypass the system by stealth, such as IR, telecoms and tax. For example, taxing powers were gained by the federal government via its defence powers, to fund Australia's WWII effort.

The end result is duplicity of service, conflicting laws and buck-passing. And a huge waste of money.

The states have failed misreably to manage the Murray Darling effectively. The are like a bunch of children fighting over sweets - whoever grabs the biggest handful first gets more. The sooner the federal government takes over that the better.

Ok, continue, im listening.